Culinary Wanderings #6: Granola

Welcome to the sixth edition of Culinary Wanderings! To give me a way to share a bit about my culinary adventures, and to learn from all of yours, I’ll be writing a post on the last Tuesday of each month to share any new recipes, ingredients, or other discoveries I’ve made in the kitchen. I would love for you to join by sharing your favorite or most recent food-related post from the month. Anything food-related that you want to share is appropriate!

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Last month’s Culinary Wanderings post went live just a few days after we moved to a hotel for our last few days on Guam before the move and, while we have been in our new home for a little over three weeks now, we’re still waiting on our belongings to arrive. This means I don’t many spices, and I have no baking pans or anything at all for baking in the oven actually, aside from one baking sheet I picked up so we could have fresh bread. Point being, I have not made anything worth of writing about since last month. I’m pretty excited about next month, however, as our things should arrive early in the month and I know from the food shopping we have done that I’ll have all sorts of delicious things to cook with. I’m hoping we can even join a CSA, which will give me plenty of excuses to be creative in the kitchen.

For this month, I wanted to share my exact granola recipe with you. I mentioned the granola I started making a couple of months ago, but didn’t give too many specifics, figuring it was simple enough that you all could figure it out. I have not stopped making this delicious mix, and have been asked for the recipe by everyone who has so much as smelled it, I think. I don’t think I have given any recipe out so much as this one, and I’ve only been making it for a short time, so I thought it was only appropriate that I put it here.

Annabelle eats it with almond or hemp milk as a cereal, I prefer to put it in my yogurt, and the husband just eats it by the handful. I have yet to try different variations, but I expect it would be equally, if not more delicious with apples in place of the raisins, or dehydrated raspberries or peaches instead, plus a bit of ginger. I’ll get more creative once the appropriate pans arrive and it’s easy to make again! The recipe I started with was from the Food Network, with credit to Alton Brown. My changes are not huge, but there are enough of them to warrant the creation of my own version, I think. I link to specific brands on the items for which I specifically prefer one over others, but you can use any brands you want, obviously.

In a large bowl, stir together your oats, nuts, and coconut with the cinnamon. In a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup, maple syrup, molasses, coconut oil, and vanilla. If your coconut oil is solid, you’ll want to warm it just slightly so it reaches a pourable state. If you’re like me and you keep your maple syrup in the refrigerator, you’ll also want to make sure it’s at room temperature before you mix or you’ll end up with coconut oil chunks when the two make contact. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir to combine. Spread granola onto two large baking sheets or pans. I use two 9×13 Pyrex dishes. Parchment will keep it from sticking, but isn’t absolutely necessary. Bake in a 250F oven for approximately one hour, stopping to stir every fifteen minutes. Granola is ready when it’s dry and many pieces have begun to brown just slightly. It works wonderfully in both a convection and a regular oven. Add raisins while granola is cooling. Let cool and store in a canister, repurposed jars, or whatever strikes your fancy.

I’ve always wanted to make my own granola, and you finally convinced me too! I made it for a monthly neighborhood SAHM brunch. Everyone loved it- especially the kids! And, I haven’t been able to keep my husband’s hand out of the jar! Do you have a favorite maple syrup? I’ve been very disappointed with the ones I’ve purchased recently- I imagine it would be even better with a good one! Thanks for sharing!

I’m so glad to know you tried it, and liked it, too! Maple syrup is one of the few things I always send the husband to the commissary for, because it’s half the price there and we use so much. There are probably far better brands, but the one they carry that is pure maple syrup is Cary’s, so that’s what we use. I’d love to know if you find something you really love!